London Buses route 194
London Buses route 194 is a Transport for London contracted bus route in London, England. Running between West Croydon and Lower Sydenham, it is operated by Arriva London. History The original service 82, provided by the London General Omnibus Company, operated between West Wickham and Lower Sydenham and was renumbered 194 at the time of nationalisation. For most of the time that route 194 was operated by London Transport it ran between Croydon Airport and Forest Hill. The part of the route between Elmers End Green and Penge Pawleyne Arms was via Elmers End Road (passing Elmers End Garage which operated this route at that time) and Croydon Road. The route was initially operated from Croydon (TC) and Elmers End (EB) garages using NS class double deckers. In 1936, the Sunday service was withdrawn. In 1938, Elmers End (EB) garage gained the full allocation and the NS class double deckers were replaced by AEC Renowns. In 1939, the Sunday service was reintroduced. In 1940, a Sunday Croydon (TC) allocation was introduced. In 1941, the Sunday Croydon (TC) allocation was withdrawn. In 1948, the AEC Renowns were replaced by AEC Regent III's. In 1963, the Sunday was withdrawn and replaced by a re-numbered route 194C. In 1970, the route was converted to single deck one person operation using Marshall bodied AEC Swifts and the Sunday service was re-instated - the Shirley Way routeing was covered by new route 119B. In 1973, the route was converted back to double deck using Daimler Fleetlines. In 1985, the Sunday was withdrawn and replaced by a re-numbered route 194A. In 1986, Elmers End (EB) garage was annouced closed and the allocation was transferred to Croydon (TC) garage. The route was converted to single deck operation using Leyland Nationals at the same time. In 1989, a temporary diversion was established via Beckenham War memorial while the bridge adjacent to Elmers End station was rebuilt; it proved so popular that the change became permanent. In 1992, the route passed to Selkent operating from their Catford (TL) garage using Leyland Titans and the Sunday service was reintroduced. On 29 June 1996, it was withdrawn between East Croydon and Croydon Airport and diverted to West Croydon station. On 31 August 1996, part of the allocation was to Bromley (TB) garage. In 1998, the Catford (TL) allocation of route 194 was transferred to Bromley (TB) garage and the Leyland Titans were replaced by Alexander bodied Volvo Olympians. On 2 September 2000, part of the allocation was transferred to Catford (TL) garage and Northern Counties bodied Volvo Olympians were introduced. On 30 August 2003, the route passed to Arriva London using Wright Pulsar Gemini bodied DAF DB250LFs. At this point it was diverted from Forest Hill to Lower Sydenham. On 28 August 2010, the route was retained by Arriva London. In 2014, Wright Gemini 2 bodied VDL DB300s were introduced. On 26 August 2017, the route was retained by Arriva London. In October 2017, the route was converted to full Wright Gemini 2 bodied VDL DB300 operation. Current Route Route 194 operates via these primary locations: *Croydon Whitgift Centre (for West Croydon Tramlink and West Croydon Station) *East Croydon Station and Tramlink *Lebanon Road Tramlink *Sandilands Tramlink *Shirley Park *Shirley *West Wickham Station *Eden Park Station *Elmers End Green *Beckenham *Clock House Station *Beckenham Road Tramlink *Penge High Street *Penge East Station *Sydenham *Lower Sydenham Sainsbury's External links *London Bus Routes Gallery *Full Timetable (PDF) 194, London Buses routes